Build An AK 47

And everything else gun building related.
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Thursday, September 16, 1999

The Complete Guide to Building an AK 47

This blog will teach you how to build an AK 47, by yourself, in your garage, with a minimal amount of tools, ak parts and knowledge - LEGALLY. Not a full auto, pull the trigger and dump an entire mag type. (That's not legal.) But a semi-automatic version. That fires once every time you pull the trigger.

It's completely legal to build your own "legal" firearms at home. As long as you do it YOURSELF. Meaning no one else can help you physically. And you follow the rules of making ONLY legal, semi-automatic firearms. Using your own ak parts.

(The various sections of this tutorial include simple methods that might be used if you had a minimum of tools. Other methods are more sophisticated, might have been developed after some of the older simpler methods, but may require more advanced tools. At the minimum you need a drill and some BIG hammers. But preferably a 12 ton press from Harbor Freight.

For a complete step by step tutorial I would highly suggest contacting dixonboyles@hotmail.com for his excellent Word and .pdf file tutorials. And vetteenthusiast@gmail.com (buildyourownak on youtube) for his incredible video build tutorials.)

I built the rifle in the picture above. (And several others pictured in this blog.) With a minimal amount of tools. Over the course of a few days. It was probably one of the most satisfying accomplishments of my life. How many guys can say "I built an AK47 with my bare hands."?! Not many. But probably more if they only knew how easy it was.

Builders in the Khyber Pass on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border have been building them for decades. With nothing more than hammers, files and a little ingenuity:

The AK 47 has been the most successful assault rifle of all time. It's medium to large caliber has great stopping power and it's simple design insures that it works EVERYTIME. In EVERY environment:

The following posts detail links and information regarding building your own AK 47. I hope you'll have as much fun and satisfaction as I have building my own AK 47's from parts. But please follow your own state and local laws concerning firearms. And be safe.

Monday, September 13, 1999

In order to stay within the law your AK can not have more than 10 foreign made parts in it. Here are two easy calculators that explain regulation 922r and make it easy to figure out which parts you want to replace with US ones. Alot of the typical parts replaced are parts you'd like to replace anyway. Some common ones are the trigger group which makes up alot of parts towards your 922r compliance. And the piston. But my advice is to skip the piston replacement if you can. And replace something else that can simply be dropped in. Like a muzzle break or magazine component:

There are many different ways to build the many different AK variants. But most methods are applicable across the different types. My advice is to read as much as you can about the different build techniques. So that you can choose the ones that are right for your tool and skill set. There are basically two different types of AK's - milled and stamped. Milled is a receiver that has been cut from a solid block of metal. Stamped has a receiver made from bent sheet metal. You'll probably be starting with the latter. Further, most countries standard issue military AK47's are very very similar in construction. With the exception of Hungarian. And especially Yugoslavian. (Which isn't bad. The Yugo is arguably the strongest AK made. As it starts with an RPK trunnion. And all around beefier components.)

The main difference in your build will be stamped versus milled. And standard AK vs Yugo. And whether you use rivets or screws to attach the receiver together with the rifle.

With a stamped build you will be starting with a replacement stamped sheet metal receiver. (Or building one from scratch - also called building from a "flat".) Or you will be welding a milled receiver back together. Or starting with a new milled replacement receiver. Then you will either be attaching your receiver with rivets (the traditional way) or with screws. I prefer rivets. But you'll have to decide that on your own:

Sunday, September 12, 1999

Buildyourownak on Youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/user/BuildyourownAK ) has the most complete collection of videos on building an AK. I highly recommend his DVD in the first section of this blog. They cover almost every aspect of an AK build. The DVD has hi res versions of each video. Here are the low res versions he's posted on Youtube: